I thought I would do a Post about tow things that I have started watching recently – one’s a kids cartoon show (Phineas and Ferb) and the other is a British horror series on BBC America (The Fades). Very different but I’ve gotten hooked on them both.

Phineas and Ferb, we (my wife and I) found because of posts in Jim Hines blog and we gave it a try. It’s hilarious  on both a kids level and an adult level. Phineas and Ferb are two brothers who find something to do each day (oh yeah, it always takes place during summer vacation). That might be building a rollercoaster around their entire town, a spaceship, huge paper-mache airplane, etc. Meanwhile, their older sister Candace is trying to bust them to their Mom, and their pet platypus,

Perry, is really a secret agent for OWCA (Organization Without a Cool Acronym). Perry is the nemisis of Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the only employee of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorprated who is always coming up with plans to rule the tri-state area using various contraptions whose name always ends with “in-ator” (e.g The Deflate-in-ator which has a ray that deflates anything infltable that it hits). In any case, it is full of inside jokes for adults and geeks.

Each episode is 11 minutes long and there are 2 per show. Each episode has intertwining plots in the 11 minutes and the writing is smart as well as funny. Oh yeah, they went to a Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention and helped end the fight between SF Fans and Fantasy fans.

The Fades is one that I watch but my wife isn’t as interested in. It’s about a 17 year old geek, Paul, and his best friend, Mac. They are each others best friends since they have no other friends. They have an inexhaustible amount of trivial knowledge of movies, comics (they love Gaiman), Tolkein, etc. Like many of us and our friends. Paul has suddenly shown this ability to see the dead. Ghosts, sort of. It seems that some of the dead stay around because they can’t ascend. This is both good and bad people. He can see them. Others can as well and are known as Angelics. He also has begun to show other powers and abilities. His hands will glow and he can heal or hurt. And, at least once, he grew angel wings when he masturbated.

Now, the stuck around dead have started to be able to interact with the world and eat people which makes them stronger. So, there is an apocalypse coming and Paul may be the one that can stop it, at least that’s what his visions indicate and some of the other Angelics agree.. It’s a very different take on zombies and the apocalypse. What makes this work is both the look of the show, the writing, and the acting. It is shot in the cold  new England, not the lush green but the grey concrete. Paul’s character is as freaked out as he should be with what is happening to him and reacts like a 17 year old boy would. It is written with wit and intelligence and done in a way that you don’t know what is going to happen. It also captures the lives of the teenagers in what seems like an accurate way.

So those are a couple of TV shows that I’ve started watching for whatever that’s worth.